Discrimination, Marginalisation and Violence Against Minorities in Post-War Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s past is stained by human rights violations. The end of the thirty-year old civil war created opportunities and expectations that the post-war period would usher in peace and reconciliation, but this has not materialised. Recently there have been significant and worrying challenges that has altered the environment for reconciliation and accountability leading to a new wave of violence and discrimination against minorities. Some of these broader challenges include excessive militarisation, the reversal of Constitutional safeguards though court rulings, political apathy towards accountability for war-time abuses, exclusionary rhetoric through the intensification of Sinhalization and a shrinking democratic space. These challenges are warning indicators of future conflict and increased human rights violations. The purpose of this paper is to therefore highlight the various abuses, including those legislative frameworks that discriminate against Sri Lanka’s minorities and it advocates for actions in accordance with the country’s obligations under international human rights law.